Master of the Elements
by Riverstyxx
Summary: *This is a very old story. Please try not to take it too seriously. I'm just posting it for fun.* There was a time when we dragons were safe, when the world was a brighter place, but that was before the darkness came. Now I fear that I truly am the last free dragon in all the lands. I am the Ghost Dragon, and I grew up in darkness. *AU. Written before the release of DotD.*
1. Prologue

**A/N: Good Greetings my fans, friends, frenemies and nemeses! If you've read my stories before, you're most likely wondering what the hell this is. This is a very old story. A story written when I was...14 or 15. It's the first TLOS fanfiction I ever wrote, and it's...not particularly great. It is, essentially, a 'remake' of ANB because I was apparently too lazy to come up with an original plot. Including OCs! :D**

**Why am I posting it? Because I can, and because it's been sitting in my documents for years, so lonely, that I kind of wanted others to read it. And maybe you'll enjoy seeing where I started and, hopefully, how I've improved since.**

**That, and I don't have anything new to post, so you get this instead. xD**

**I've kept this story as unedited as possible from the original, for authenticity's sake. All I've done is correct typos and split a few of the longer...uh...page-long paragraphs that burned the eyes. I'll post chapters pretty quickly, but not all at once. Feel free to review and help me pick out everything I did wrong (or even stuff I did right) back then.**

**Also, beware of Mary Sue. She got out of her cage. Oh dear.**

**Enjoy~ (If you can. xD)**

**Random thing to note: This was written before we knew for sure what the Dark Master's name was (and back when I thought Malefor was just the name of the mountain). So, naturally, I gave him my own. And his own backstory. Woo.**

**The Master of the Elements**

_Prologue_

There was a time when we dragons were safe, when the world was a brighter place, but that was before the darkness came…before Forbinn. Where are we now? What are we now? We are nothing but memories…remnants of a great race now destroyed by evil, destroyed by our trusting nature…if only we had been more careful. There was a time not so long ago when it seemed as though we were winning, we thought we were safe, we thought we had won. I was only young back then, a young white dragon barely out of childhood. I don't remember much of that night, when they came, but I revisit it every night in my dreams. The screaming…the fire…the roars. I know not who I was back then, my name has been snatched from me just as my childhood was, and I no longer remember the days when there was light…when there was hope.

And now I fear that I truly am the last free dragon in all the lands, save for Forbinn and the mindless dragons who serve him, trapped by his will, unable to think for themselves. And here I stay, in Forbinn's own fortress, as a Ghost among the walls. I dream of fear, I dream of anger, and I wait as I have waited for, oh, so many years for the sight of another free dragon. They have seen me, the filthy matted apes, many times, but their flashing glimpses of me only spur on the myth. To them I am naught but an apparition. I am the Ghost Dragon, and I grew up in darkness.

**A/N: So short. Deary me... Chapter 1 coming right up.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Last Free Dragon

**A/N: So apparently I didn't like Gaul or something, so I create my own giant ape leaders. Two of them. With weird names. Kay. Enjoy the weirdness~**

**Chapter 1: The Last Free Dragon**

The silence was deafening, but the white dragon was used to it. Her footsteps were silent as the grave, as she floated through the caverns like a silent shining ghost. She had spent so long here in this fortress, listening and waiting, so long she had heard herself mentioned as the Ghost Dragon that no longer could she remember her name…her real name. It hovered around the edges of her mind but when she tried to snatch it, it floated just out of reach, tormenting her. Shaking all thought of her previous life from her mind she peered out from the small cavern, so small it was barely a fissure in the rock, unseen by the apes who resided here.

She could see one now, a filthy ape standing just in front of her staring out into the teal-coloured sky. He was so close that she could just reach out and touch him with a claw. But she did not wish to do so. The ape turned, the back of his neck prickling, he could feel the presence of a pair of staring eyes. But all he saw behind him was solid rock. Shrugging, the hideous thing ran off back to his platoon, where Klor was waiting for him and the other apes. He disappeared into the fortress and the Ghost dragon slipped silently from her hiding place, her violet eyes glowing in the darkness. It was always dark here. The sun would rise but its feeble light could not find a way through the choking grey and teal clouds, a remnant of the essence of dark magic that clung to the fortress like a message to say that Forbinn resided here. The Ghost dragon breathed in deep, ignoring the foul stench that hung in the air wherever an ape had walked. She spread her silver wings for the first time in many days and they seemed to groan and crackle from misuse. She had not flown for a very long time.

From the peak of rock she stood upon, she stared up at the mighty grey castle. It carried a presence of evil as it always did, but today it felt stronger to her. Shivering slightly, she slipped away through the passageways in the rocks and caverns that only she knew of. Forbinn's castle was calling to her, something was happening.

* * *

The small ape looked around for a moment before hurrying to the group of a variety of apes, all crowded around a large commander at the gates to the fortress. He slid into the group, hoping his absence had not been missed: he was late after all. Klor caught his eye and glared, making the ape shiver worriedly. But Klor had better things to do than yell at a foolish soldier. He drew his troops close and growled,

'I know what you're thinking…and that is just what the foolish thing wants us to think. She wants us to believe she doesn't exist. But she hasn't reckoned with me, I know her, I know what she's up to, and its up to you to find that inferior dragon and exterminate her. You will succeed…I do not have to tell you how angry the Master will be if you fail…'

The apes gulped. To make the Master mad was the very last thing they wanted. But some of the apes were foolish; they wanted to make their opinions known.

'You can't kill a ghost, Klor,' said one of the larger apes contemptuously.

Klor stared into the eyes of this daring ape and walked slowly towards him, the other apes parting hurriedly to allow him through. The ape that had spoken up was beginning to regret his words. He might be big, but Klor was a commander, and only the largest of apes were made commanders. Klor towered over the ape, his filthy clawed paw grasping his huge metal mallet tightly.

'A ghost…is THAT what you think? A _ghost_?' Klor snorted contemptuously, 'there is no such thing as ghosts! Any ape worthy of serving the Master Forbinn would realise _that_! You see, my foolish monkey, you have fallen into her trap. She…wants…you…to…think…she's…a…GHOST!'

The ape staggered backwards, now really regretting his words. But he had more to say,

'Y-you've seen her yourself! S-she's white! Wh-who's ever heard of a w-white dragon?'

Klor voice lowered to a menacing growl, 'Once they didn't believe there were purple dragons,' the other apes nodded hurriedly in agreement, 'what do you say to that?'

'T-they were wrong! B-but no one's ever seen her clearly! She just disappears, l-like a ghost!'

Klor roared and his mallet swung around with such force that the ape was crushed where he stood. The other apes screamed and chattered like the animals they were. Klor raised his mallet to the sky,

'Find me that DRAGON!' he roared.

The apes scattered, terrified of being left alone with Klor, each eager to find the dragon and please their Master.

Above them the ghostly dragon sat on an overhanging ledge, watching the ape commander rent his anger on the foolish apes. She snorted in disgust,

'Keep trying, Klor. You've sent so many after me, and this time it won't be any different. You'll never catch a ghost,' she whispered and disappeared into the dark of the fortress.

* * *

The wooden doors closed with a muted thud as Klor stomped into the room. There was already another ape there, just as big as Klor, if not bigger. He was sitting on a throne made of dull grey metal and garnished with the matted skin of an animal of some sort, perhaps another ape. The other ape stood up,

'At last, Klor, where have you been? Chasing dragons again?' he gave a great booming laugh, 'it's not there, Klor, it doesn't exist. You of all apes should know that.'

'Believe what you want, Omar. I know that dragon is out there, laughing at us, and I intend to destroy it.'

Omar waved a clawed paw, 'so you say.'

'What news have you from Forbinn?'

Omar walked towards the centre of the room where a still black pool shimmered gently in the lantern-light. He looked up at Klor,

'Are we alone?'

Klor nodded, but unknown to him it was untruthful. There was another with them. A Ghost in the walls.

The Ghost Dragon hid in the darkness, behind the throne. So silent she was that they suspected nothing of her presence. None would believe that she had somehow found her way, undetected, to the very heart of Forbinn's fortress where his two most trusted apes allowed none to enter unless by order from Forbinn himself. She listened quietly to every word that was spoken, her violet eyes closed to ensure that their glowing would not give her away.

'The Elder of Fire has escaped from Zahman's glacier.'

Klor drew breath in sharply, 'are you sure?'

Omar glared at his brother, 'The Master does not give false news.'

'Of course not,' said Klor quickly, 'how did it happen?'

'You know well he was kept on the glacier to keep his firepowers weakened. He was being kept in an elemental cage while Forbinn was…experimenting…on him.'

'An elemental cage…' said Klor thoughtfully, 'Made of ice?'

'Yes, it was the strongest element in that environment.'

'And he melted it? How is that so? I thought his powers were weakened.'

'Yes, that is what he let us believe until he had stored enough power to destroy the cage.'

'But how did he escape? He would have been guarded day and night, surely the soldiers would have stopped him?' Klor asked.

'You underestimate the force of a dragon, brother. He destroyed a whole platoon of apes, including their commander, before flying away. It is believed he is returning to the Elemental Temples.'

Klor shook his head, 'Had the Master finished extracting the essence of fire from him?'

In the darkness the Ghost Dragon's eyes snapped open in shock. Extracting the essence of fire? What in the world did _that _mean? What was Forbinn up to?

'No,' said Omar, 'the fire was proving exceedingly difficult to extract, and the elder wasn't willing to give it up.'

'Hmph,' muttered Klor, 'Forbinn will have to do without fire then.'

Omar glared at Klor again, 'you must stop underestimating the Master. He alone will be the Master of the Elements. One escaped elder isn't going to stop him from extracting the essence of fire. It belongs to him, just like all the elements.'

Klor huffed and folded his thickly haired arms against his chest, 'you said the elder was returning to the Temples. Why would that be?'

'Your foolishness amazes me, brother,' said Omar, 'there is only one reason he is returning. He wishes to use the Seeing Pool.'

Klor frowned, 'the Seeing Pool? But there are no dragons to converse with. The only thing he will achieve is to make contact with this one, and with us,' he gestured at the black pool at their feet, 'that will be the last thing he wants to do.'

'Perhaps he believes there are free dragons about…'

Klor laughed unkindly, 'he will be disappointed. The last free dragon in all the land is Forbinn himself.'

'And your little ghost dragon,' hissed Omar.

Klor glared at his brother but didn't comment.

The ghost dragon huffed quietly in the darkness and, shaking her head, disappeared back through the hidden passageway that even the apes didn't know about. It was an escape route, perhaps, built in by whatever creature had first built this fortress. Behind her, the hidden door swung shut without a single sound, leaving no trace that she had ever been there.

* * *

It was night now, but the only way the Ghost Dragon could tell it was so was by the silvery light of the moons as they tried to break through the clouds. She was sitting on a ledge close to the top of the fortress and watching the apes run hither and thither below her. They were searching for her, she knew, but they would never find her.

Sighing she turned her eyes away from the apes and stared off into the sky, troubled. This place, this forbidding fortress, had been her home for as far as her memory stretched back. But inside her a long forgotten part of her memory was urging her to go elsewhere. And that elsewhere was the Elemental Temples. Somehow she felt like she knew them and she wanted to return. Well, part of her did. The other part of her confused mind didn't want to leave this place, no matter how unpleasant it was. This was her home, she knew no other place, and here she knew everything, she saw everything through the eyes of the apes she spied on. Outside she was blind. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes as though in an attempt to push away confusing images in her mind. The apes slowly disappeared into the fortress for the night and the Ghost Dragon stood up and slipped away through the caverns around the fortress, searching for a good place to spend the night.

Klor was on night patrol. With his mallet over his shoulder he walked around the fortress searching for apes that had been out hunting for the Ghost Dragon and sent them back into the fortress. The Ghost Dragon was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she accidentally stepped into view of the ape commander. Klor saw her immediately and started towards her yelling,

'YOU!'

But she was already gone, like a wisp of smoke floating through the hidden caverns and passageways in the rocks. Klor growled and ran a paw down his face in frustration. Gripping his mallet tighter, he continued his patrol around the fortress.

**A/N: Zahman's Glacier? Apparently Dante's Freezer wasn't good enough, so I had to mash some letters together and make my own strange name for a cold place of doom. Also, it never made sense to me why the guardians were kept in the places they were, so I switched things up a bit and gave it a reason. One of the few good things I did here, I think.**

**I think Ghost was my first Spyro OC. She's terrible. You'll see.**

**Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious before... The Dark Master (or 'Forbinn') was never imprisoned in this story. In fact, this story is more of an AU than a remake. It still follows a similar vein to ANB, though. Onwards! Chapter 2 tomorrow sometime if I find time.**

**Oh, the bad grammar. *distant sobbing***


	3. Chapter 2: The Dragon Who Defied

**A/N: Hey, people are reading this! :D Thanks for the reviews, guys. Always fun to see people's reactions. This chapter is the introduction of the canon characters and our dear Mary Sue. It still makes me cringe.**

**Chapter 2: The Dragon Who Defied**

The days passed slowly and the Ghost Dragon was still there, haunting the walls of Forbinn's Fortress. But she was growing restless. The calling that was drawing her to the Elemental Temples was growing stronger and she was finding it hard to ignore. She stood now on the very peak of the fortress, a silent statue under the moons. Adventure was calling. It was time to leave, and she couldn't fight it. She looked down at the rocks below her and knew that flight would give her away to the apes. But there was no other way and her wings cried for use. It was time to fly again.

She spread her wings slowly and they rose to the sky like silvery sails. She tensed her legs and sprang, off the top of the fortress, and into the night sky.

To the apes below her she looked like a glowing white ghost against the cold black sky. They squealed and chattered in excitement and Klor's voice rang out like thunder,

'The Ghost Dragon! Fetch the Riders!'

Beating her wings strongly, the Ghost Dragon snarled with hate. She hated the riders, more than any other apes. They were the smallest and smartest apes, and they rode dragons. These dragons had never had the chance to think for themselves. They had been put under a spell from the time they were born or captured and they served only Forbinn. There was only one way to lift the spell without Forbinn himself lifting it, and that was to vanquish the Master, something that had never been attempted. The spell turned these dragons into living zombies, their minds fuzzy and unused, and unable to fight the spell. There were ten such dragons at the fortress and they were all younger than the Ghost Dragon.

Below her the fortress doors burst open and a rider came soaring out on the back of a dragon. The ghost dragon hissed in anger and circled this menace, her white scales shining. It was a male dragon, still a teenager, he was smaller than the Ghost Dragon but not by much. In the straining moonlight he appeared a dull sort of blue, but she couldn't be sure. Growling, she opened her mouth, fire welling up in her throat as she prepared to unleash it. But something stopped her. It was the dragon's eyes. They were the eyes of an intelligent beast, the eyes of a _free dragon_. And yet, here he was, a filthy ape riding on his back, acting like a servant of Forbinn.

'What are you waiting for dragon?' the rider shrieked, 'Attack it!'

Her teeth still bared, she hovered in mid air, her eyes locked with his. His eyes flashed as the rider whipped him, but he still didn't attack. The ape loaded his crossbow and aimed between the Ghost Dragon's eyes. He fired, but she had already moved. Shrieking like a banshee, she lunged at the dragon and its ape rider. Then the blue dragon roared and held his claws up to meet the white dragon. But before they met, he threw his head back and reared in mid air. Caught off guard, the rider scrabbled for a moment on the dragon's scaly back, but unable to find traction, he fell with a despairing cry to the rocks below. The Ghost Dragon skidded to a halt, flapping her wings to stop her from crashing into the rearing dragon. She began to circle him again, hissing fearfully. Who was this dragon who fought the dark magic that held him? Who was this dragon who disobeyed Forbinn's wish and threw his rider from his back?

'What are you?' she hissed, her violet eyes narrowing.

The blue dragon must not have been expecting this greeting because he started, looking confused, before speaking, 'I'm a dragon, like you.'

'You may be a dragon, but you are not like me,' she said, baring her teeth, 'none alive are like me. I would never let a filthy ape ride upon my back like a common mule. I would never submit to Forbinn's magic. I am a free dragon and you are a pawn amongst Forbinn's forces. You are not like me.'

'You are the one they call the ghost dragon,' he said, 'what do you mean "Forbinn's magic"?'

'The magic with which he subdues the dragons in his service. It makes them obey him…no dragon would serve Forbinn freely.'

The bluish dragon turned his blue eyes to the fortress below him, where the apes were still looking up wondering what had happened.

'So _that's _why they look so blank,' he whispered.

'Has he put you under no such spell? Do you serve him freely?' the Ghost Dragon hissed menacingly.

The blue dragon shook his head, 'I no longer serve him. I see there is a better path. But I believe he did put a spell on me. There have been times when I have felt so numb…so blank…'

His voice trailed off and his eyes went misty as he thought about it. Suddenly something small and giving off a faint yellow light flew up beside the bluish dragon.

'Aha, yeah, is it safe to come out yet?'

The Ghost Dragon stared at it in shock. It gestured to her with its glowing hand,

'Hey, Spyro, who's the chick?'

'Ah, sorry Sparx, I forgot you were there,' said the dragon sheepishly.

The Ghost dragon looked between them, 'I think you had better tell me everything…'

The blue dragon grinned, 'my name's Spyro and…'

'You may call me…the Mighty Sparx!' said the glowing creature.

'If you don't mind me asking,' said the Ghost Dragon, 'what exactly _are _you?'

'What-what _am _I?' said Sparx indignantly, 'I'm a dragonfly! What did you think I was? A mosquito? Huh!'

'Sparx…' groaned an exasperated Spyro.

'Well, at least that's a start,' said the white dragon, 'you can call me Ghost.'

* * *

Spyro, Ghost and Sparx had left the fortress immediately, in case another rider was sent up. They had been flying for hours, the fortress far behind them, when Sparx muttered,

'You can't expect us to fly ALL night.'

Ghost looked at the dragonfly, 'he's right. Sorry, I got carried away. Come on, we'll find a good place to spend the night.'

They dived down to the ground and flew low until Ghost spotted a cave. She landed on the ledge in front of it and explored. It was a shallow cave, but good enough to provide protection from outside. Spyro sat on the edge of the ledge, staring out at their surroundings. The clouds that hung in the sky around the fortress had disappeared and the night was clear, but the land was still a barren wasteland of smooth grey rocks that rose like small mountains from the cracked ground. Ghost sat next to Spyro, curling her long white tail around her. She glanced at the young teenage dragon; even in the clear moonlight he still appeared a dusky sort of blue.

'Tell me, what element do you control?'

Spyro looked at his companion, 'what do you mean?'

'What do you breath? Fire? Ice?'

'I don't know,' said Spyro slowly, 'I think I have breathed fire before, but its hard and it won't come when I want it to.'

'You are still learning, you will learn your element eventually.'

'What about you? Do you breath fire?'

Ghost paused a moment before answering, 'Yes. I use it often, as it is the easiest to use. But I also control the power of electricity, which I use to emit large bolts of power at enemies.'

'Cool,' said Spyro, awed, 'I didn't know it was possible to use two elements. Can you breath ice?'

'No. I only control the elements that contain the essence of light. Fire and electricity are the only ones. But I do have another power, one that I believe is unique to me alone. You see, I have harnessed the power of light, and I can concentrate it into a powerful beam that, when fired, disintegrates all it touches to ashes. Well, it depends on how much power I put into the blast. It may only singe your fur. But it is an exhausting ability and I use it sparingly,' she said.

'Wow…' whistled Spyro, 'wish I could do that. I bet you could even take on Forbinn with that.'

'Forbinn is a beast of great and dark magic. He would find a way to match it,' she said simply.

They sat in silence for a long time. Ghost glanced again at the young dragon at her side. He was wearing three silver bangles on his right front leg.

'What are they for?' she asked, gesturing at the bangles.

Spyro raised his leg and looked at them. He sighed sadly,

'They…they used to belong to my sister. She was…killed…trying to rebel against Forbinn and the apes. She gave them to me before she died…'

He blinked and looked away.

'I'm sorry,' said Ghost.

Spyro unclipped the bangles from his leg. Two were large and were clipped around his thigh; the other was small and clipped around his ankle.

'You have them,' he said, 'as a thankyou for helping me escape.'

She dipped her head and Spyro clipped one of the larger ones around her neck. Little metal stars hung from it and tinkled gently. She then swung her tail around and clipped the large one around the base and the small one around the tip of her tail. Spyro nodded in approvement,

'They suit you,' he said.

'Thank you, Spyro,' she said, 'I'll treasure them.'

Spyro nodded again and turned away, walking back to the cave where Sparx was already curled up asleep. Ghost lay down with her paws tucked under her like a cat and gazed out into the night.

**A/N: What's that, Mary? You can control three elements? And one of them has never been heard of before? Fancy that... Don't worry, guys, Spyro's still purple. 14-year-old me was just trying to be mysterious and not reveal that yet. Even though every Spyro fan is existence knows he's purple. Good job, past me.**

**And Spyro's mysterious sister was never mentioned again. Pretty sure his upper foreleg isn't the same width as Ghost's neck, too... Wut. Random excuse to give Mary Sue pretty trinkets, yay!**

**Did I butcher Spyro's character or is he not too bad? Let me know!**

**(Oh, and about the 'essence of light' thing... My 14-year-old mind decided that, if you were in a dark place, both fire and electricity would grant you light, while earth and ice would not. Therefore they contain the essence of light. Or something. I dunno.)**


	4. Chapter 3: The Elemental Temples

**A/N: I'll have you know future me has every right to give past me a hard time. Though I suppose she did eventually evolve into me, so she can't have been too bad. Oh yeah, forgot to mention... That cover image? I drew it at around the same time I was writing this story. Isn't it pretty? Totally not a recolour of evil Cynder.**

**Chapter 3: The Elemental Temples**

Spyro opened his eyes and stretched. The sun had risen above the horizon and the sky was blue. It was a sight he wasn't used to, having spent all his life in the shelter of Forbinn's fortress. Ghost was curled up outside the cave where he had left her the previous night. Spyro sat down at the mouth of the cave and looked down at Sparx, who was still sleeping. Ghost yawned widely and raised her head. She stood up, stretching her wings, and turned back to the cave. Almost immediately, she jumped backwards in shock, forgetting there was a ledge there and almost fell off. She regained her balance as Spyro jumped up crying, 'what is it? What's wrong?'

She stared at the dragon at the mouth of the cave, he wasn't blue, he was…

'You're purple!' she yelped.

Spyro blinked in confusion, 'y-yes…'

Ghost sat down with a bump, 'a purple dragon…that's very interesting.'

At that moment Sparx woke up, 'wazzgoin'on?' he mumbled drowsily.

Spyro stared at Ghost, 'what's interesting? What's special about being purple?'

Ghost shook her head slowly as though to clear it, 'there has not been a purple dragon for many centuries. Legend says that the purple dragon can wield many abilities…that others cannot. It is said that they can master all the elements with little difficulty, and even control time. Whether the legends are true or not…that is a different question.'

'Master all the elements? I can't even master fire!'

'You haven't learnt it yet,' said Ghost, 'you will learn in time.'

Spyro shook his head, overwhelmed by what she was saying. Sparx fluttered into the air,

'Aha…rrrright. Spyro's some weird special purple guy? I _don't _think so. Heh.'

Spyro glared at the dragonfly. Ghost shrugged.

'Come, let's get going.'

'Just a moment, whitey,' said Sparx, earning himself a glare from the white dragon, 'where_ are _we going?'

'To the Elemental Temples, of course,' she answered, ready to take flight.

'Where the heck are they?' asked Sparx.

Ghost paused and considered, 'I don't know.'

'Y-you don't _know? _What!' shrieked the dragonfly.

'Relax, Sparx. I've got a feeling in my wings,' she said, before leaping into the sky.

Spyro flew up after her, ignoring Sparx's ramblings.

'She's mad isn't she, Spyro?' muttered the dragonfly, 'completely crazy.'

'Where did you get him from?' Ghost asked Spyro.

The purple dragon laughed as Sparx glared at the white dragon,

'I saved him from the apes. He was teasing them and they captured him. I picked the lock and set him free. He's been with me ever since.'

'Did they ever find out you set him free?'

'No, or I would have heard of it,' he muttered.

'Tell me something,' said Ghost, 'if Forbinn put a spell on you, how are you able to fight it?'

'I don't know,' said Spyro thoughtfully, 'but I've never felt completely under his control.'

'Perhaps a trait of the purple dragon,' Ghost suggested, 'why did you serve the apes then, if you weren't under the spell?'

'It did work somewhat. Sometimes I really did feel like obeying the apes, but when I was normal I thought about escaping. I knew I couldn't though, having seen my sister try and fail. And besides, I didn't even know if there was another life out there. The fortress is all I've ever known. I was afraid to leave. But then, when I met your eyes, I felt this sudden freedom and I knew the frail tendrils of magic that held me to the fortress were broken. I'm never going back. Never.'

Ghost looked admirably at the purple dragon, 'you are a strong dragon, Spyro. Only a strong dragon could fight dark magic and win.'

'Well, now you know pretty much everything about me,' said Spyro, 'what about you? Surely 'Ghost' can't be your real name?'

Ghost stared ahead, her eyes glassy, and sighed.

'I had a name once… a real name. But it all seems so long ago I wonder if it was all a dream. Not that I remember much of it. My memories only stretch back to the time I spent at the fortress. But every night in my dreams, I visit a place where I am sure I grew up. I think it was the night when Forbinn finally overran the dragons. I can still see the fire, still hear the screams and the roars. But that is all I know.'

'I don't remember any other dragons. Save for one. I see him each night in my dreams. A young black dragon whose name I cannot remember. Perhaps he was my brother, or my friend. One thing I do know is that he must be dead now or serving under Forbinn as a blank shell corrupted by dark magic,' her eyes sparkled with unshed tears of anger.

'You remember nothing…nothing at all of your childhood?'

'No…save for the dreams…' she sighed.

'How horrible,' said Spyro quietly.

'Yes,' said Ghost, 'but who can decide what they dream?'

* * *

The wind whipped through their wings cold as a thousand knives. Ghost narrowed her eyes against the gushing wind and powered forwards, straining her silver wings against its force. Spyro followed behind her, her slipstream protecting him from the worst of the wind. Sparx flew beside him still muttering rebelliously. Suddenly the white dragon looked down and yelled at the purple dragon.

'Spyro, look!'

Spyro looked down at the ground zooming below them. Marching towards the forest on the horizon was a troop of apes, the form of a bulky commander leading them onwards.

'Where are they going?' he yelled back, the wind almost tearing the words from his mouth.

Ghost peered through the wind and gasped, 'There! Look ahead!'

Spyro looked around her and looked at the treetops ahead. Rising above them was the roof of a great golden building, a glittering sphere-shaped purple jewel standing on a pedestal on the top.

'Is that…?'

'The elemental temples!' cried Ghost as three more rooftops appeared above the trees.

Spyro looked down at the apes again, 'Why are they going there? And why haven't they seen us?'

'Because they haven't looked up,' she said dryly, answering his second question, 'its lucky the wind is so strong or they would have heard us.'

'But why are they going to the elemental temples?'

'They've got business there,' she growled, 'just like we do.'

'What business?' he cried, but the wind whipped his words away and Ghost didn't answer.

'Are we there yet?' called Sparx.

Ghost ignored this too and Spyro buffeted the dragonfly playfully with a wing, 'We'll be there in a minute, Sparx,' he said.

Soon they were flying over the form of a lush forest, the temples becoming closer and closer. The apes had disappeared within the trees and could no longer be seen from above. Then the trees spanned out into a clearing and the dragons had their first good look at the elemental temples. There were four large temples surrounding the biggest one in the centre. Their roofs glittered gold and their stone walls were somewhat chipped and scratched. They had a feeling of desertion about them but this did nothing to lessen their majesty. Above the wooden doors of each temple glittered a different coloured gem. Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and on the largest was a glittering clear diamond. The purple jewel that stood on the roof of the middle temple appeared almost to be sucking light from the other jewels and was glittering brightly in the shining sun.

Sparx whistled, 'cool…'

But Ghost seemed more interested in the trees. She seemed to be waiting for something and sure enough, after a moment, the apes appeared from within the depths of the forest. They marched purposefully towards the centre temple, the commander at their head gripping his mace tightly. The white dragon snarled and her hackles rose,

'Those bastards! They think they can march in here like they own the place! This is the land of the dragons and its time they saw what a _real _dragon can do!'

She hissed and bared her teeth, diving down towards them with Spyro's parting yelp ringing in her ears.

'Ghost, wait!'

'Oh boy…' muttered Sparx as Spyro dived down to joined her.

Ghost landed lightly in front of the apes, barring the way to the temple. Her violet eyes flashed with anger.

'I suggest you turn back now, you filthy apes!' she hissed.

The commander skidded to a halt, gaping stupidly at her.

'Dragons!' cried a smaller ape as Spyro landed beside Ghost.

'Aye, dragons,' hissed Ghost.

'Impossible!' gasped the commander, his eyes narrowing dangerously, 'there are no more rogue dragons!'

'What do you think you're looking at, ape?!' she cried, rising up on her hind legs with a roar.

The commander staggered back in fright but quickly recovered. Pointing his mace at the two dragons he roared,

'Kill them! NOW!'

Sparx yelped and hid behind Spyro as the apes swarmed towards them. Ghost shrieked like a banshee and bared her claws. She leapt at them, snarling and biting, her claws flailing at the thickly furred apes and drawing blood. Spyro leapt forwards to help her, grabbing an ape in his jaws and shaking it roughly. Ghost spread her wings above her like sails and breathed a torrent of fire at the tormenting apes. They shrieked and scrambled to get out of the way, a few of the unluckier ones running in circles with their matted fur flaming. The commander bashed his way forwards, swinging his mace. Spyro went for him but Ghost yelled,

'No, leave him! Get the smaller ones; I'll deal with this brute!'

She reared in front of the commander, flailing her claws before her. He swing his mace but she leapt out of the way and swung her tail around, slapping him in the face. He staggered backwards and she leapt at him, biting his filthy shoulder and receiving a mouthful of fur. He swung his mace again and this time it caught the white dragon a blow, throwing her to the ground. He leapt at her but she was already getting to her feet and as he ran at her she gathered her energy and shot a beam of pure white light from her gaping mouth. Every ape stopped to look as the beam passed straight through the commander who seemed to freeze in time before bursting into ashes.

Ghost gasped and shook her head as the dizziness that usually followed use of a light beam hit her. As the ashes of the commander floated to the ground, the apes leapt at Ghost and beat her back. Weakened by the use of her most powerful breath she couldn't hold them off and they beat her back to the doors of the temple. With a roar she reared up onto her hind legs in an attempt to throw them off. The apes leapt at her unprotected neck and smashed her head against the rock frame of the doors. She collapsed to the ground senseless as she heard Spyro call her name and a great red dragon ran out from within the temple. There was a roar and something like a gush of hot air rushed over her and then there was darkness.

**A/N: Dramatic fights are dramatic. Those last two paragraphs were originally one long one. It buuurned. You guys aren't seriously enjoying this, are you? xD Eh, what the hey, reading it again after all this time is fun for me too. Reviews. Thank you for them. :3**


	5. Chapter 4: A New Name

**A/N: Aw, sorry I disappeared, random strange people who are reading this. I made the mistake of starting to post this story shortly before the occurrence of a not-so-happy event, and after it happened I couldn't bring myself to look at this story or even write. But I got better, and now that my real stories have been updated not so long ago and I have nothing else to post, let's get back into this.**

**This is the grand Sue chapter. Mary Sue gets her sue name, her sue backstory, her sue heritage and other sueish stuff. Honest to goodness, she's not named after the magical pony princess! That Celestia didn't even exist back then... xD**

**But yay, Ignitus. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 4: A New Name**

Celestia…somewhere a spectral voice was whispering, filling her mind. Celestia…it whispered. Celestia…the white dragon opened her eyes marginally. Everything seemed foggy and blurred. A red something was leaning over her, its form blurred and distorted by sleep. She could also make out a purple shape standing behind the red thing and what looked like a glittering yellow jewel. Celestia… there was that spectral voice again…was it the red thing? She blinked and her vision slowly came back into focus.

'Celestia,' whispered the red dragon, 'Can it be? Is it really you?'

The white dragon, Ghost no longer, shied away from the red dragon as a thousand old memories fell back into place. She had a name again. She stared up into the dragon's gold eyes.

'Father!' she whispered.

Spyro gaped as he stared at the two dragons.

'Wait…did we miss something?' asked Sparx, whom the white dragon had mistaken for a yellow jewel.

'Ignitus, what's going on?' asked Spyro, staring at the red dragon.

'The dragon you know as Ghost,' said Ignitus, the red dragon, 'is my daughter and her name is Celestia. I believed her long dead but you have brought me new hope.'

'Celestia, is it?' asked Spyro, gazing at the white dragon still lying on the floor.

Celestia, formerly known as Ghost, nodded.

'Great,' muttered Sparx, folding his arms, 'another name to remember.'

Celestia stared at both of them, 'what happened? The rest of the apes…?'

'Mmm, yes,' hummed Ignitus, 'I believe our young Purple Dragon here took care of _them_.'

Spyro blushed, 'I didn't mean to…really…it just…burst out of me.'

'What do you mean?' asked Celestia curiously.

'Come,' said Ignitus, 'we'll show you.'

Struggling to her feet, the white dragon followed Ignitus and Spyro out the door. Only now she realised that she was inside the centre temple. Deciding to explore it later, she poked her head out the doors and looked around, half expecting to see apes jump out at her. But all that was outside was a large circle of blackened burnt grass and the smouldering remains of a few apes. Celestia gasped,

'What _happened_?'

'Spyro,' said Ignitus, 'he used fire fury if I'm not mistaken. And he almost singed your scales,' he added with a wry smile at his daughter.

Spyro looked around at the damage he had caused previously, 'It's strange, I can't even breath fire that well, so how did I manage this?'

'Anger is one of the stimulants that fuels breath power. But one must be careful never to let their anger get out of hand lest it turn against them,' said Ignitus wisely, 'my guess is that you grew desperate when you saw Celestia fall and your desperation and anger caused your raw power to burst out of you. It is, of course, why we call this power 'Fury'.'

'Amazing,' said Celestia.

'Yes. I have not seen such raw talent for a long time. With a bit of training one may say that you stand a chance against Forbinn himself,' said Ignitus, smiling at Spyro.

Celestia glanced at him, 'It's a bit early to be thinking about that.'

'Its never too early to plan for justice,' said Ignitus.

Celestia snorted and turned away, ruffling her wings irritably. They didn't understand Forbinn, they didn't understand what he was like, what he was capable of. No matter how much she wanted to believe it, there was no chance in all the world that another dragon could defeat him for good. She picked her way carefully through the burnt grass, avoiding the smouldering bodies of the unfortunate apes, and gazed up at the nearest temple. The red jewel set above its massive wooden doors glittered dully in the sunlight. Celestia closed her eyes as the force of her childhood memories hit home. This jewel had glittered brighter once, as had all of them.

'The Temple of Fire…' she murmured, her eyes still closed, 'I know this place…I remember it all now.'

She moved towards the temple's doors, reaching out to push them open, but the force of her most horrid memory forced her back and she shied away.

'This…was where…' she gasped and shut her eyes tight, 'yes…that night…when they came…I was here…'

'Celestia…' called Ignitus, still standing outside the larger temple, 'come inside.'

She gave one last fleeting look at the Fire Jewel and walked back to her father and Spyro. She looked up at the jewel set above this temple's doors.

'This is the Wind Temple. Do you remember it, Celestia?' asked Ignitus, 'this was where you learnt to fly.'

Celestia looked curiously at her father and walked back inside the WindTemple. It did indeed look as though it was made to allow for flight. The ceiling arched high above their heads and the room was completely empty, save for one thing. In the very centre of the room stood what looked like a round, black mirror, flat upon the floor. But on further inspection it was revealed to be a shallow pool, its water so still and black that a dragon's reflection could easily be seen within. Celestia moved towards it,

'That's…the Seeing Pool!'

'Yes…' said Ignitus, sadly, 'I have contacted almost every other pool in this land, but none have answered. I fear we truly are the last of the dragons.'

'What about Forbinn's dragons?' asked Spyro.

'One could not truly call them dragons,' said Ignitus, harshly, 'winged reptiles with no minds of their own. They would not contact me, and I would not want them to. No, the last free dragons, I fear, are us three.'

'No…' said Celestia quietly, 'there are others… not many…but others who have not been corrupted by Forbinn's magic. I know not where they are but I am sure they are held captive. The three guardians of Ice, Earth and Electricity. They must be alive, if you are, Father.'

'How do you know this, Celestia?' asked Ignitus, curiously.

'From what I saw that night…when they came, so many years ago,' she said, curling up beside the pool, 'come, sit, I will tell you my tale.'

'I don't remember how long ago it was, but it was many years, and I was very young. It was a cold night and we were within the FireTemple. I was practising with Tanis, a young black dragon; oh we were the best of friends. There were others in there too, young ones, teenagers, and two older dragons who were watching over us. We didn't hear them approaching, the doors were closed. We didn't hear their screeches as they ran through our home. All we heard was the thud that echoed around the temple. Everyone fell silent and looked towards the door. It shook with the force of the next blow from whatever creature was outside. Then the doors crashed open and framed against the night sky was a huge monstrous creature. Well it appeared huge to me, small as I was. It was a large ape, a commander I suppose, and it threw back its head and roared as the smaller apes swarmed past it and into our temple. I was so afraid. The dragons were fighting and I lost Tanis in the chaos, I don't know where he went. But I knew I couldn't just stand there. So I did what any frightened young dragon would do. I ran.

I ran through the fighting groups, through the flames that seemed to spring up from the ground, I ran so hard I didn't notice where I was going. I stopped when I came to a dead end and found myself in the egg room. It sprung off from the Fire Temple to collect the heat the temple generated. I didn't want to return to the battle, so I hid behind a cluster of eggs, hoping the apes wouldn't come and find me. But they did. They came in after a while and found the eggs. I remember one of them yelling,

'I've found it! I've found the eggs!'

More arrived and began to collect the eggs, hurrying out of the room, their arms laden with as many as they could carry. I watched fearfully and a filthy paw reached down and lifted the eggs, one by one, which were concealing me. He almost dropped the eggs when he saw me.

'Hey! There's a little dragon behind here!'

'Grab it,' said one of the others carelessly, 'Forbinn wants all the young ones.'

The apes disappeared, taking the eggs, and left me alone in the room with the ape who had discovered me. He placed the eggs slowly back down and reached out to get me.

'Easy…' he hissed, 'be a good little girl…'

But I snarled and backed away from him. He tried to grab me, but I bit his paw hard with a sharp pointy teeth. He tore his hand away hissing,

'Little wretch! Stay still!'

I continued to back away, snarling, my hackles rising. But I found myself backed against the wall. He moved towards me, grinning triumphantly. I breathed flame desperately at him, but it was weak and it barely singed his fur. He laughed at me. I tried to breath electricity, but it wouldn't come. His clawed paw reached out to grab me and I shrank away, terrified. I met his eyes, triumphant cruel dark eyes, and I felt a great anger well up inside me. That's when it happened for the first time. I opened my mouth, to scream, to bite, I don't know…but what came from it was so unexpected it frightened even me. A beam of light shot from my mouth, so white, so bright it hurt me eyes. And before my eyes the ape turned to ashes; he couldn't avoid it. There wasn't even time for one last despairing scream before he was gone and there was nothing left but a pile of black dust.

Terrified of what I had done I leapt over the pile of ashes and fled out the door. I fled through the temple and the apes didn't notice me. I fled past the battle zone, littered with the bodies of the dead and the dying. I fled outside into the hot howling wind and gazed in horror at the scene of evil and death that met my eyes. The ground was charred and burnt by flame, covered with bodies of apes and dragons alike. I turned away, unable to bear the sight, and that's when I saw him. A great bronze dragon, his copper armour glittering in the moonlight, his flashing scarlet eyes surveying the scene of destruction coldly.

I backed away and hid amongst the trees, not wanting to be seen by this great omen of death that stood before me. Glittering beside him was a swirling blue portal. Apes of all sizes hurried past their master, the great dragon, their arms laden with dragon eggs, and leapt through the portal to someplace unknown. A few apes hurried past carrying the unconscious forms of the youngest dragons. The elders were lying beside the bronze dragon, chained and unconscious. I watched from the trees, horrified, and too terrified to move. The bronze dragon turned to eight of his largest apes, and spoke to them. His voice was deep and commanding.

'Take the elders. You know what to do with them. I will join you soon, but for now…I must return to my fortress. Do you understand?'

'Yes, my lord Forbinn, it shall be done,' said the apes in unison.

Forbinn watched coldly as the last of the smaller egg-thieving apes leapt through the portal. With a wave of his paw, he closed the portal and spread his great black wings to the sky. The larger apes lifted the elders and carried them away into the darkness. Forbinn turned and looked back at the ruined temples. Then his eyes flashed crimson and he leapt into the sky, flying away into the night.'

Celestia sighed and looked at her enraptured audience, Spyro, Ignitus, Sparx. She closed her eyes and spoke, 'I know not what possessed me that night, why I did what I did. But somehow…somehow I just knew I had to follow him. Ungainly I climbed the nearest tree and standing on its topmost branch I spread my small silver wings. I was not used to flying, but I had flown before, and I had to follow this horrible dragon no matter what. So I leapt from the branch and flapped my wings. It took me a few moments to steady myself in the air, but then I was away, flying after Forbinn. And I didn't look back. That was the last I ever saw of the Elemental Temples for many, many years. That was the night I followed Forbinn, Master of Dark Magic, and flew into the untold darkness stretched out before me.'

Celestia opened her eyes slowly and looked down at the black Seeing Pool.

'You followed him? You actually followed Forbinn? When you were a child?' asked Spyro, gazing in awe at her.

'Yes…'

'And you never found out what happened to young Tanis?' asked Ignitus.

Celestia smiled a little sadly, 'no…he was a good friend, that young earth dragon. I like to think that he escaped, like I did, but more likely he was killed that night, or captured by the apes.'

'Perhaps,' said Ignitus wisely, 'but you escaped, you managed to escape Forbinn like no one else had. There must be a chance that others did too.'

'We may never know,' murmured Celestia, simply.

'Once we've all finished talking about doom and gloom here,' Sparx butted in, 'why don't you tell us what we _can_ do?'

'Sparx is right,' agreed Spyro, 'we cant just sit here wondering about what happened to everyone else. We need to do something. Rescue the dragons…or something…'

'Forbinn's dragons don't want to be rescued,' said Celestia harshly, 'they are completely and willingly under his control. But there _is _something we can do. Father, you are not the only elder left. The three others must be out there somewhere, trapped like you were, and being experimented on by Forbinn and the apes. I overheard his commanding apes speaking about you. They said you had been kept on Zahman's Glacier to weaken your powers. Do you think this is true, father?'

Ignitus nodded slowly, 'yes…it would make sense. I did feel a lot weaker when I was on the glacier, the cold really got to me. But I managed to store my energy and escape.'

'So it is true…' said Celestia thoughtfully, 'they keep the elders where their powers would be weakest. The elder of fire was kept on ice…and the elder of ice…'

'Would be kept on fire!' finished Spyro, finally understanding, 'A volcano do you think?'

'It is likely,' said Celestia, 'but there is one more thing. Father…what were the apes doing to you? I heard them say they were 'extracting the essence of fire', do you know what it means?'

'Oh yes,' said Ignitus gravely, 'I know. You see Forbinn was born without any…magical powers. He was never gifted with a certain breath power, as most dragons were. He was jealous of all the others because of this, and it was that, I suppose, which led him to follow the path of Dark Magic. But his magic is not enough for him. He wants more, he wants to be seen as a _real _dragon. He wants to control all the elements. Fire, Ice, Electricity and Earth, he wants them all. And he is using us, the elders, to 'steal' our elements and use them for himself.'

'Is…is that possible?' gasped Celestia.

'Yes, it is quite plausible with a certain amount of strong magic. I fought it of course and escaped before he could extract the essence of fire and use it for himself. I just hope the other elders have been able to hold on for so long. But once Forbinn has all the elements under his control…he _will _be the Master, and there will be no stopping him.'

'So. That's what Forbinn wants. To be master of the elements. Well its not going to happen!' cried Celestia, standing up quickly, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Ignitus looked up at his daughter and slowly got to his feet, 'we'll see…we'll see.'

'What are we going to do?' asked Spyro, 'I can help!'

'We're going to rescue the Elder of Ice,' said Celestia.

'Come with me, Spyro, there is something I must give you,' said Ignitus, turning and walking towards the door.

Spyro and Celestia exchanged curious glances and followed the red dragon, Sparx bobbing behind them.


	6. Chapter 5: The Essence of Fire

**A/N: I see you survived the grand sue chapter. Well don't relax just yet, it's only going to get worse. xD Here's a nice, short, _almost_ Spyro-centric chapter. Oh wait, all of his badassery happens off screen. Again.**

**Chapter 5: The Essence of Fire**

'Where are we going?' asked Spyro.

'To the Temple of Fire,' replied Ignitus, leaving the Wind Temple and walking towards the temple with the red stone set above its door, 'fire is strongest there.'

Ignitus pushed the old doors open and they creaked from misuse. Then he slipped inside, Spyro and Sparx following him eagerly. Celestia hung back, eyeing the huge wooden doors apprehensively. This place scared her; the last time she was here had not been a very good experience. The red jewel glittered almost mockingly and she scowled, striding forwards through the doors, angry at her own fear. She stopped just inside the doors and gazed around. Not as large as the Wind Temple, it was still large enough to house up to 50 dragons. The walls and floor were stained with scorch marks from years earlier and old straw dummies lay pushed up against the walls, some charred and burnt. Celestia peered across the other side of the room where a tunnel led off to a different room. She knew that room, the egg room. It was another place she didn't wish to see again. Ignitus and Spyro were standing in the middle of the room, talking. Sparx bobbed up beside her head,

'Hey Ghosty, what's up?'

Celestia glared at the annoying dragonfly, 'don't call me that, my name is Celestia.'

She stalked away, Sparx following behind, 'What's up with you?'

She ignored him and he floated away back to Spyro and Ignitus. The elder was speaking to the purple dragon about fire. Celestia watched them curiously.

'As a purple dragon, you will be able to control each element naturally, without having to steal them, as Forbinn is attempting,' Ignitus was saying, 'but as you are already well into your teen years and have not yet mastered any element it will be harder for you.'

Spyro looked crestfallen at this news but Ignitus continued.

'Your powers are dormant within you, and without training they will not likely surface. I can help you master fire. Usually we allow young dragons to discover their elements naturally and train them to use it, but I think I can help you in this case. As a master of fire, I cant grant you this power and allow you to use it yourself.'

Spyro gazed at the elder, 'you're going to give me…?'

'The essence of fire,' said Ignitus, nodding, 'yes. It is what Forbinn wants, but he endeavours to steal it. I give it to you freely, as a gift. Close your eyes.'

Spyro closed his eyes whilst Celestia and Sparx looked on curiously. Ignitus bent so that he was nose to nose with the purple dragon. He opened his mouth and breathed out a great warm breath that tumbled over Spyro's head and body. Celestia gasped as she watched. Ignitus's breath seemed to have a reddish tinge and as it washed over Spyro the edges of his body seemed to glow red. Sparx gaped, lost for words. Ignitus closed his mouth and straightened up. Spyro blinked and opened his eyes as the red glow slowly faded from him. He felt odd, warmer, and fuller, more complete. Ignitus nodded, satisfied.

'You have the essence of fire, Spyro. Give it a try,' he murmured.

Spyro breathed in deep and closed his eyes. Then he let it go and from his mouth burst a great torrent of orange flames. Ignitus chuckled,

'Very good, Spyro!'

Sparx was gaping at his friend, 'Dude! You breathed _fire_!'

Spyro grinned.

'Now I will teach you how to control it,' said Ignitus, conjuring up one of the smaller straw dummies, 'be ready, Spyro.

Celestia paused for a moment, watching them, but her attention was elsewhere and she slipped away from them. Only Sparx noticed her go, and he didn't follow her. She stopped across the other side of the room, in front of the passageway that led to the egg room. Her violet eyes glittered as she stared down the tunnel-like passageway. She remembered running this way, that night many, many years ago. Closing her eyes, she took one step into the tunnel, and another, and another. Slowly she treaded that path she had last tread when she was a child and found herself in the room where she had first used her light breath. She looked around sadly. There were no eggs here anymore, perhaps a broken piece of shell or two and a few unused, old nests. But no eggs. She walked around the room, between the old empty nests, her paws crunching as she stood on tiny bits of egg shell left here from long ago. She stopped in the far corner of the room, looking down at the old nest that was slowly falling apart. There was a scorch mark on the floor in front of the nest. She ran her paw over the blackened spot, remembering. This was where the ape had cornered her and she had turned him to ash with a single blast of light power. She sighed and sat down on the floor, closing her eyes.

It could have been hours later, she didn't know, but suddenly Spyro's voice was calling her name. She opened her eyes as he walked into the room, followed by Sparx. He looked at her curiously,

'Celestia? You ok?'

She stood up, 'fine, Spyro, just fine.'

Ignitus was waiting for them back in the fire temple. A bunch of charred dummies lay in the centre of the room, remnants of Spyro's training. Ignitus nodded at his daughter and led them back to the wind temple. Celestia turned to her father,

'What's the plan of action? What are we going to do?'

'We need to decide where to look for the Elder of Ice. We know that he will be kept somewhere where fire is the main element, to keep him weakened.'

'Where fire is the main element,' Spyro repeated, frowning.

'Yes. I believe he was taken to a volcano. Do you agree, Celestia?' asked Ignitus.

The white dragon nodded slowly, 'yes…but where do we find a volcano?'

'The closest one is Voldrin on the island of Arson. It would take you perhaps a day to fly there over the southern sea.'

'A day?' asked Celestia, 'well I guess I'll have to head off right now if we want to rescue the Ice Elder before Forbinn overpowers him.'

'You're not going alone,' said Spyro, 'I'm coming with you.'

Celestia frowned and looked at Ignitus, as though expecting him to contradict the purple dragon. But her father nodded,

'Yes, he is going with you, Sparx too. Why do you think I trained him if he wasn't to help you?'

Celestia shrugged, 'very well. Two heads are better than one.'

'Three,' corrected Sparx.

'I wouldn't call yours a head,' muttered Spyro under his breath, earning himself a glare from the yellow dragonfly.

Celestia walked out the door and looked up at the sky, stretching her silver wings.

'I could use a good fly,' she murmured.

Spyro spread his wings too, but before they took off Celestia had a thought. She turned back to Ignitus,

'But, father, where will you go?'

'I'm staying right here,' replied the old red dragon, 'there are a few things I must do, and I need the seeing pool.'

'You can't stay here,' argued Celestia, 'the apes are hunting you and they know you're here.'

'The temples are impenetrable,' said Ignitus, 'and for all they know, the other apes already caught me.'

'The temples aren't impenetrable,' scowled Celestia, 'don't you remember what happened all those years ago?'

'Forbinn was with them, it was his Dark Magic alone that allowed him and his apes to penetrate our walls.'

'And what if Forbinn comes after you again?' asked Celestia.

'He won't, he has better things to do. I will be fine Celestia, the temples are my home, I'm not leaving again. Now go quickly and rescue Cyril, the Elder of Ice. I'm sure you will remember him when you see him.'

Celestia sighed and nodded, 'very well. Stay safe. We'll return soon.'

And with that she spread her wings and leapt into the sky, Spyro and Sparx flying in her wake.

**A/N: Island of Arson. Sounds like a nice place, right?**


	7. Chapter 6: Voldrin

**A/N: Heh heh. Fish catching. Oh, and a big ugly volcano. That's probably important too. I swear it's not Munitions Forge. I swear.**

**Chapter 6: Voldrin**

The sea below them glittered in the sunlight, a vast lake of sapphire. Celestia dived low, her claws skimming the surface of the waves; her head held high towards the wind, her eyes closed. Spyro flew beside her, his eyes fixed on the horizon,

'You do know where you're going don't you?' he called above the wind.

'Yes, I do,' replied Celestia, 'I got us to the elemental temples didn't I? I can get us to Arson Isle too.'

'I'm starved,' muttered Spyro.

'Should have eaten a few butterflies before you came, like I did, bro!' shouted Sparx, trailing behind the purple dragon.

Celestia ignored him and suddenly snapped her wings back along her body and dived headfirst into the sea. Spyro gasped in shock and looked around frantically to see where she had gone. With a great eruption of seawater, Celestia rose back into the sky clutching in her talons a large silver fish. Spyro gaped,

'How did you do that?'

'It's not hard,' she said, throwing the slippery fish to Spyro, 'we're faster than fishes.'

Spyro caught the fish, juggling it in his paws before getting a good grip on it. He tore ravenously into the meat and Sparx looked away in disgust muttering something that sounded like 'ruddy carnivores'. Celestia dove deep into the water again and it was a few moments before she erupted to the surface once again and took wing with another fish in her claws. She waved the limp fish at the yellow dragonfly,

'Sure you don't want one, Sparx?'

Sparx made a revolted expression and feigned gagging as an answer. Celestia smiled and swallowed the fish whole. Spyro decided to try his luck at fishing. Celestia watched on curiously as he dove into the water with a splash. A moment later he burst back into the air, coughing, spluttering and fish-less. He coughed out a reasonable amount of sea water and looked incredulously at Celestia,

'Easy? I've got water all up my nose. Guh.'

Celestia giggled, 'you've got to close your nostrils, silly dragon. And don't forget to use your third eyelid underwater to stop the seawater hurting your eyes.'

'Third eyelid?' asked Spyro.

'All dragon's have one,' said Celestia, 'it usually works on its own. Give it another shot and remember _close your nostrils_!'

Spyro made a face and nerved himself for another dive into the sea. He dove deep and opened his eyes. Like Celestia said, the third eyelid worked on its own and Spyro was able to see perfectly underwater. He chased the first fish he saw but it rose towards the surface and jumped out above the waves. Spyro followed it but miss judged and flew out of the water into the air, almost colliding with Celestia. He straightened himself with a stuttered apology and dove back in after the fish.

Celestia watched his shadow under the water and a few moments later he erupted back into the air. He waved a silver fish in his talons triumphantly,

'I got one! I got one!'

Celestia laughed and Sparx really did gag as Spyro ate his prize. The yellow dragonfly turned away and flew out towards the horizon. Then,

'Land Ahoy!'

Celestia sped up immediately and hovered beside Sparx. There was indeed a smudge of land on the horizon.

'Well what do you know,' said the white dragon, 'the gnat has a good sense of vision. Well spotted.'

'Who you callin' gnat?' glared Sparx, 'I'm a dragonfly! A _quality _dragonfly!'

''Course you are, Sparx,' said Spyro absently, his eyes fixed on the growing land mass ahead.

Not long afterwards the two dragons and the glowing yellow dragonfly were descending through a thick cloud of smoke spewed out by the volcano to the sand below. Celestia alighted on the shore neatly, blinking ash out of her eyes as Spyro landed beside her. The smoke above their heads formed a sort of blanket that kept the sun out. Though it was midday, the whole isle appeared to be in twilight.

Celestia rose on her hind legs and stared up at the huge volcano that dominated the Isle.

'Voldrin,' muttered Celestia, 'Cyril will be in there somewhere, I just know it.'

'Well let's go then,' said Spyro, already walking towards the foot of the volcano.

'I dunno…looks kinda dangerous,' muttered Sparx, hovering hesitantly beside Celestia.

'Of course it's dangerous,' said Celestia, now walking after Spyro, 'you'd expect anywhere that Forbinn makes his base to be so.'

'Come on you guys!' yelled Spyro, 'I've found a way in to the volcano!'

Celestia cantered over to the purple dragon and peered into the tunnel. A metal train track disappeared into its depths. The white dragon frowned,

'Forbinn must be mining the ore inside the volcano, around the magma chamber, no doubt making weapons for his army of apes. Come on, this is the only way in unless you want to fly up to the top and I don't fancy trying to navigate through all that ash.'

Spyro nodded in agreement and leapt into the tunnel, trotting along the train track with Celestia slinking gracefully behind him. Sparx took up the rear, complaining loudly,

'Why come somewhere where you're most likely gonna die to rescue some weirdo we don't know who's probably dead already?'

'Cyril is one of the guardians and almost like a father to me, just like Ignitus, I'm not leaving him here as a prisoner to Forbinn,' muttered Celestia.

The tunnel began to widen out and a bright orange light at the end met them. Spyro stood blinking stupidly in the bright light until Celestia grabbed him and forced him to the ground with a hiss of,

'Get down!'

Spyro glared at her, 'what was that for?'

'Look…' said Celestia, pointing with a claw.

Spyro looked out along her claw and peered down from the mouth of the tunnel. They had entered a huge cavern dominated by the sound of hammer clashing on ore and rock. Falls of magma poured from the roof and walls into large pools on the floor and there were apes everywhere, working, ordering others around, and standing guard.

'Hey there's a dragon!' gasped Spyro, leaning further out of the tunnel to get a better look.

There was indeed a large red and yellow dragon down with the apes. They were whipping him and forcing him to do work but he didn't retaliate to their cruelty. His golden eyes seemed strangely blank and glossed over. Celestia pulled Spyro back,

'One of Forbinn's dragons. He's under Forbinn's spell, there'll be no freeing him so forget it, Spyro.'

'But…they're hurting him…' whispered Spyro, aghast.

'I know it's cruel, but there's nothing we can do. He will attack us if we try to help him. He's in Forbinn's power. Come, we have a job to do.'

'Yeah and how do you propose we get through here, genius?' muttered Sparx.

Celestia surveyed the cavern, 'it makes it tricky, having that dragon there. Otherwise we could have battled our way through.'

'What will we do then?' asked Spyro.

'I think it's time for them to see the Ghost dragon,' said Celestia with a wry smile, 'Spyro, see down there on the other side of the cavern there's a door. We need to get through there. I'll get their attention and distract them then you and Sparx can run for the door.'

'But…' argued Spyro, 'what about you?'

'I'll be right behind you,' answered Celestia with a smirk, 'don't worry, I did this all the time at Forbinn's Fortress, they wont even touch me.'

'Ok…if you say so,' said Spyro hesitantly, 'are you ready Sparx?'

'Only if you are, bro,' muttered the dragonfly.

'When they catch sight of me they should all run over and try to catch me,' said Celestia, 'I can't buy you much time so get through the door as quickly as possible. Ok?'

'Right, good luck, Celestia.'

Celestia ruffled her wings, spread them and soared out over the apes, landing right in the middle of them. They all stared stupidly at her for a moment until the commander yelled,

'Rogue dragon! Catch it!'

Then she disappeared and appeared again at the other end of the cavern, away from the door. The apes howled with rage and charged towards her. Spyro took off from the tunnel above and flew towards the door, which opened at his presence. He and Sparx slipped quietly through and waited behind it, on edge and ready to fight. A moment later the door opened and Celestia slid in beside him. The door shut soundlessly and the cries of the apes could be heard beyond it,

'Where is it, where's the dragon?'

'She disappeared!'

'She's a ghost!'

Celestia wrinkled her nose, 'they always think I'm a ghost. Good job, Spyro, let's go.'

'How did you do that?' asked Spyro in awe as they walked.

The white dragon shrugged, 'you learn things like that when you've got a whole army out for your blood and you're living in their fortress.'

The tunnel they were in was sloping upwards and the rocks beneath their paws were hot. Spyro had a feeling they were heading towards the summit of the volcano. No apes appeared in the tunnel though they passed a few doors leading off from the tunnel that they didn't enter. Then Celestia stopped dead and Spyro almost crashed into her.

'What did you stop for?' asked Spyro.

Then he saw. They were standing on the brink of a cliff and below them was a vast oval pool of bubbling magma. Sparx and Spyro gaped,

'W-where are we?' asked Sparx.

'In the magma chamber,' answered Celestia. She craned her head to look up to the ceiling, only there was none, 'magma boils up from here when the volcano erupts and is ejected out the top. We should fly up there, I bet that's where Cyril is being held.'

'If your friend Cyril is a dragon, you bet correctly, friend, or are you foe?'

Celestia looked down from the cliff. On a ledge below them an odd furry sort of creature sat looking up to them. There were chains tied around his legs and he had a long bald tail.

'We're friends,' called Spyro, 'what are you doing down there?'

'I was thrown down here by the apes when they caught me. No doubt they expected I would fall right into the magma. Lucky this ledge is here. I would burrow home if only I wasn't chained.'

'Hang on,' called Celestia, 'I'll fly you up here.'

She took off and hovered down to the strange creature, grabbing it gently in her paws and flying back up to Spyro. She dropped the creature on the ground gently and landed beside it. Spyro peered at the chains,

'I can get them off if you like?'

'Please do friend. The name is Mole-Yair. My family will be most worried about me.'

Spyro bent down and clamped the chains in his jaws, crunching them forcefully between his teeth until they broke.

'I'm Spyro,' he said, spitting bits of metal out as Mole-yair stood up and brushed the broken chains off, 'and this is Celestia and Sparx. You mentioned Cyril before?'

'Ah, yes. There is a mighty blue dragon being held in a cage of fire on the summit of Voldrin. Be careful though, there are rumours that a great dark dragon is up there, too, and he is not friendly.'

'We'll keep it in mind,' muttered Celestia, 'thankyou Mole-yair, you should get back to your family.'

'I think I will, Celestia, thank you for rescuing me,' and with that Mole-yair was gone in a flurry of dirt and rocks, somewhere within the heart of the volcano.

'Come on,' said Celestia, 'we can fly up to the summit.'

'Right behind you,' answered Spyro, while Sparx groaned.

The three of them took off and winged their way upwards into the vertical tunnel that led to the summit. Caves carved into the tunnel gaped out at them like mouths. There were no apes in these caves. The sound of crunching rocks reached their ears and Celestia stopped, hovering in mid air and peering about. She thought she saw a glimpse of a dark shape within one of the caves but it was gone before she could get a better look. The scales on the back of her neck prickled,

'We're being watched,' she muttered to Spyro as they continued flying.

A moment later the tunnel ended and they flew out onto hot rocks as the smoke above them swirled and rained ash down upon them. This was it, the summit of Voldrin, and the Ice Guardian Cyril should be around here somewhere…

**A/N: I think Mole-Yair accidentally swallowed his French accent. If there really are people reading this, thanks for reading. I think. xD This story gets worse as it goes on... Except for the fish catching. All dragons should catch fish.**


End file.
